Bare Bones Board

The Bare Bones Board is an Arduino-compatible board (Freeduino) that implements the functionality of the Arduino Diecimila, on a smaller printed circuit board, by removing the USB communications chip to a cable. More on this below. It is completely compatible with the Arduino project software and IDE. Currently the Bare Bones Board is listed on the Arduino site as "Recommended Third-Party Hardware". It has also gained a devoted following among Arduino users, as a convenient, effective, and low-cost hardware solution.

Arduino is an open-source microcontroller hardware, and software, environment, closely related to the Wiring and Processing open-source initiatives. The microcontroller uses an Atmel Atmega168 chip programmed with a bootloader, so no dedicated programming hardware is required. The software IDE has been developed in tandem with the Processing and Wiring initiatives and customized for the Arduino environment.

Arduino is programmed in the "C" programming language, with an integrated development environment (IDE) engineered for beginning programmers. The language includes support for desirable microcontroller features such as 32 bit and floating point math and many standard C libraries. Projects that outgrow the Bare-Bones Board's capabilities can easily be ported to the Wiring Board, which is based on the Atmega128 chip.

Atmega168 features, upon which the BBB is based:

14k flash program storage
1k RAM for program memory
6 PWM outputs
6 A/D inputs
UART and SPI interfaces
Hardware interrupts
20 general purpose I/O pins (shared with PWM and Analog pins)
16 MHz RISC microcontroller
Open-source hardware, IDE, bootloader
Easy upgrade to more powerful hardware (Wiring)

Atmega328P features, now shipping standard:

32k flash program storage
2k RAM for program memory
other features as above

Arduino home
Wiring home
Processing home

All Modern Device products are now shipping standard with 328P chips.

New.

Duemilanove w 328 chip

328P chips, see below

USB BUB - USB adapter.

The currently shipping model of the BBB is Rev. E

Instructions for Bare-Bones Board Rev. E
Who is using the Bare Bones Board?

The Bare-Bones Board

The Bare-Bones Board was engineered to be a low-cost, breadboard-friendly Arduino-compatible especially useful for education. The USB communications chip has been removed to a communications board (USB-BUB) that you only need purchase once. This has several advantages.

• It saves the cost of repeatedly paying for the communications chip.

• It makes the board 1/3 smaller in both dimensions than the Arduino® Duemilanove board.

• Designed with all through-hole parts for easy assembly by beginners.

• The BBB can be built in many configurations for custom projects.

See the Connect page, for several solutions for connecting to the BBB.

BBB Features:

Despite the Bare-Bones name, the BBB is a full featured Arduino-compatible that includes the vast majority of the functionality of the Arduino Duemilanove.

• Standard with the latest 328 chip for more memory and faster uploads.

• Auto-reset and "Diecimila/Duemilanove" bootloader for "one-click" uploads and faster times to get to the sketch. Software chip resets.

• Designed with male header pins on bottom to insert directly into solderless breadboards, saving a lots of wiring and fuss.

• Analog inputs have adjacent +5V and Ground buses to make interfacing sensors easy, using a three pin female header or servo cable.

• Flexible power options USB/External, onboard voltage regulator that can be used with either TO92 or TO220 (7805 type) voltage regulators.

• Convenient pins to power, (or draw power from) breadboard power buses, a shunt allows easy switching between options.

Revisions

The photos and instructions on the website are currently for the Rev D version of the board, which added only one capacitor and one header pin (reset) to the board to implement the "one-click" upload scheme now used on the Diecimila.

In Rev. C, an inductor and capacitor were added across the AVCC pin. This is recommended in the Atmega datasheet but not included in most other Arduino implementations. Some hole sizes were changed in the name of easier assembly, and the analog pins were moved over to accommodate readily available commercial connectors.

Older Rev. B and Rev. C photos and instructions can be found here.

Bare-Bones Printed Circuit Boards

Just the circuit board to build your own, get together for a club build, or embed in other projects.

The copper color is the latest green technology for printed circuit boards, called OSP. It's just the copper traces protected by an "organic solderability preservative". They solder just like tin plated and avoid the tin-lead solder with which many pcb's are coated, and lots of chemicals at the board house.

Programmed Atmega168 Chips:

• Programmed with Diecimila bootloader for Arduino.

• For replacement of older Arduino chips or building your own Bare-Bones Board, or breadboard Arduino-compatibles.

• Chips are provided with the Diecimila bootloader but can be provided with Adaboot bootloader can be provided on request.

New! Programmed Atmega 328P Chips:

Twice the memory, faster downloads!

• Programmed with Diecimila/Duemilanove bootloader for Arduino. For replacement of Atmega168 chips in any Arduino / Freeduino / compatible board or building your breadboard Arduino-compatibles.

Features:
• 2k RAM
• 32k flash (program) memory
• Faster uploading in Arduino IDE

BBB Kits and Assembled:

The kit now contains both female and male 3x7 headers for the analog block.

See the headers page for 3 pin male and female headers for connecting to servos or analog sensors to the analog block.

Assembled kits:

Assembled kits are now provided with female 3x7 headers by default. Male headers available on request.

The digital block (front) header pins on stock assembled boards are male pins facing downward.

Other options can be provided though including: male or female headers facing in either direction, double male headers that face both up and down, and "stacking headers" with female on the top and male on the bottom. Include a note in the paypal note field (better) or send an additional email on assembled options & please allow a few days for assembly.

See the header page for other header options for BBB kits.

* For educational customers only, classroom packs contains one extra board, programmed Atmega168, resonator and voltage regulator.

FTDI TTL-232R USB-to-TTL serial cable

We are no longer stocking the FTDI cable in favor of our own USB BUB board which we believe is a superior solution for connecting to the BBB and RBBB, and is less expensive than the FTDI cable. The FTDI cable is stocked by Mouser.

Windows Users:

You will need to set a parameter with your serial port to get the serial port to produce the required signal.
Device Manager -> Com Ports -> USB Serial Port -> Port Settings -> Advanced button -> Set RTS On Close

The BBB solderless breadboard advantage.

Here is a Bare-Bones Board on a breadboard with 6 LED's. Note the two pins on the right side which power the breadboard buses.

Note the way the BBB maximizes breadboard space and makes it easy to get an LED and a resistor lined up with a breadboard pin. Try this with a traditional Arduino and you have a rats nest of wires.

Support Files

Who is using the Bare Bones Board?
Instructions for Bare-Bones Board Rev. E
Instructions for Bare-Bones Board Rev. C & D
Instructions for Bare-Bones Board Rev. C
Upgrading the Rev. C board for Diecimila-like auto-reset
BBB Rev C Schematic PDF
The CAD files for the BBB were done in the Mac PCB layout package Osmond. There is a free version for small boards.
Osmond CAD file for Bare-Bones Board Rev. D2

Email us.